1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the coating of surfaces of articles to produce a surface effect and finish which is decorative and protective when applied to the article. Typically, but not exclusively, the articles to be coated are surfaces of items of furniture such as doors, kitchen units, work surfaces and such like, but in general any article where the application of a coating having a certain appearance would be beneficial to the appearance of the article.
2. Prior Art
At present, and with reference to kitchen unit doors by means of example only, the doors are manufactured from medium density fibre (MDF) or another cheap material and then coated to provide an effect which mimics, for example, a wood grain finish or combinations of colors and patterns. The coating then gives the effect that the article has been manufactured from a more expensive material or gives the article a more desirable appearance in terms of color or pattern. This coating process is used on articles ranging from articles of furniture through to sporting goods.
In a first known method, the coating comprises a sheet plastic material which acts as a base and onto which are applied second, third or fourth layers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheets. The second and subsequent layers are provided in different colors and/or are embossed to produce a tactile surface effect. In one embodiment a second layer of PVC material is provided which is of a different color than the first. Part of the second layer is then removed by routing to leave a coating with an external finish of two colors and typically having a border which is the color of the first layer surrounding the second layer.
The layers of plastics sheet material are typically applied to the article by means of applying a layer of adhesive to either or both of the plastics sheet material and the article.
Alternatively a coating known as a veneer is applied to the article. The range of surface finishes which can be achieved using veneers is limited and particularly related to the creation of effects which mimic particular types of wood grains. Again the veneer is applied by adhesive but the same are relatively inflexible and cannot easily be applied to curved or indented surfaces.
A further coating method is to form a length of plastics sheet material onto which a continuous pattern is printed or embossed. The length of sheet material is then cut to the required shapes of the articles to which the same is to be applied. This coating causes wastage in the form of the cut off sheet material and furthermore the surface effect achieved is limited, repetitive and relatively simplistic due to the continuous printing requirements.
While each of the above coating systems are used extensively in an extremely large marketplace, all are regarded as being relatively expensive and inflexible in the range of uses and the effects which can be provided. For example, and with regard to the use of multi-layered PVC sheets, the requirement to use layers of sheets to provide the required surface effect is costly and still provides only a limited effect, and no complex design effects can currently be created on existing coatings.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a coating for application to the surface of an article which can be produced and adapted to provide a plurality of surface finish effects of considerable complexity.